1. Robert_S

    Robert_S Senior Member

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    The tyrannical good guy

    Discussion in 'Character Development' started by Robert_S, Feb 14, 2016.

    I'm not speaking of a micro managing boss that ridicules if you make a mistake.

    I'm talking of a guy that speaks of respect for others, letting go of hate, etc, but will kill you in an instant if you threaten his life, the lives of his friends or allies and he'll do it for everyone to see.
     
  2. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    Ah.... The Actor. Ever on stage. Ever awaiting his cue. He knows very well that seeming is being (to quote Stahma Tarr) and and rather than rail against it, uses it to his advantage. The Actor is best known for the roll he plays against his inner self. His capacity to lie to himself is boundless. He is adept and deft at taking any action on his part that seems to run contrary to his words and turning it into something else, calling it something else, encapsulating it like a lithopedion and shunting it away.

    Yeah. I dated him more than once. ;)
     
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  3. Boger

    Boger Senior Member

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    I have actually made a side character like this. He was unable to identify as one person and would correct you each time you said his name, and tell you his "actual" name which was just made up on the spot every time.

    He does kill one of the main characters, and bluntly tells him he is going to do it, well ahead.
     
  4. Samurai Jack

    Samurai Jack Active Member

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    Sounds like a Scorpio philosopher.
     
  5. Robert_S

    Robert_S Senior Member

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    So you feel it's unbelievable or out of order in some way?

    I'm working out a personality shift in him for an potential alternate storyline. He's unable to prevent the human race from engaging in a GNW, but he's able to prevent their extinction. The thinking goes, that since humans threw their world away, he and the organic/cyborg computer than made him what he is at the end, pulled the Earth "out of the trash heap" and so they claim it as theirs. Rules of acquisition.

    Humans are squatters on his and her world, since it's still logistically unfeasible to transport the billions that still live to another world (and their isn't another world for them anyway). He will utilize them to rebuild, but they are going to be respectful and look after his world or he'll get rid of them. It's an attempt to keep them from getting into a nasty all out war again until they can truly learn the value of embracing the differences in culture before they are introduced to the other races that exist out there in the galaxy.
     
  6. Robert_S

    Robert_S Senior Member

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    I'm trying to find as much info on this as I can. You labeled an idea and I think that may be what I'm looking for.

    Any other sources to read?
     
  7. BrianIff

    BrianIff I'm so piano, a bad punctuator. Contributor

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    Kinda reminds me of Hussein or Tito of Yugoslavia. They were examples of the "good" dictator that could keep people who were likely to start wars with each other from doing so by ruling with an iron fist. They, of course, engaged in human rights abuses but they kept the peace in their own way. Don't know if that applies.

    What I initially thought, but couldn't tell, was whether you meant people who are super protective, to the point of being hypocritical. That's more than realistic, speaking from personal experience and observation.
     
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  8. Oscar Leigh

    Oscar Leigh Contributor Contributor

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    Is he supposed to feel hypocritical, or self-justified but scary?
     
  9. Robert_S

    Robert_S Senior Member

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    He's trying to keep the peace and he's using reason. Death is for those who refuse peace and reason. He won't kill dissenters who can reason and that's crucial for him. Argue out your cause and provide some proof of concept and he may amend his view. Try to use terrorist tactics or threats and you'll be dead within the week, perhaps on the spot.
     
  10. BrianIff

    BrianIff I'm so piano, a bad punctuator. Contributor

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    I don't know. He just sounds like a CEO lacking in hubris. ;) But seriously, yes, the situational stresses of such a role would make that approach to discipline plausible. I'd imagine there are a lot of examples of a very similar dynamic in history. Seems realistic.
     
  11. Matt E

    Matt E Ruler of the planet Omicron Persei 8 Contributor

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    What you're describing makes me think of the fantasy concept of a benevolent king. Someone who rules by their own authority, but acts with the good of the people in mind. Perhaps a King Arthur like figure? I'm sure there are many kings in myth, history, and fantasy that follow similar ideals.
     
  12. Robert_S

    Robert_S Senior Member

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    In a way, he is king. BES (organic and cyborg computer) makes him into a cyborg that is a living archive of past lives that also carried the cerebral implant he carries now. Twelve thousand years of memories. The ship becomes his home. It is also recognized as a sovereign world, making Dante and BES king and queen, so to speak, but everyone just calls them Ro'shaan (Ro'shaan Dante in this case) and BES. They are considered a unique species and afforded the same rights, responsibilities and protection as all other races of the Unity (the collective of alien races).

    Normally, the two, the Ro'shaan and BES, simply help a new upcoming race deal with the changes of discovering there IS other sentient life out there, dealing with the revelation and once it's complete, they settle down into being advisors, diplomats, cultural catalogers and machines of war if that is required.

    The human situation is complicated. BES made herself known before they experienced their great filter event, so humans engaged in a nuclear war that would have exterminated all life on Earth. The Unity helps out, but because they did save the Earth after humans threw it away, they have rights of acquisition. They don't need a world already populated, since it's against their code to kill non-threats (humans being so primitive renders them a non-threat), and they pass it on to Ro'shaan Dante and BES, trusting them to help guide humans so they don't become a threat to others. So now, Dante and BES are the proud owners of Earth, trying to prevent the extinction of elephants and tigers and see the Earth rebound from the destruction. Humans are, for lack of a better word, squatters. It's not their world anymore, but Dante and BES can't move them (too many) and don't want to exterminate them. They both believe there is hope, but it's going to require some not so gentle raising: culling the trouble makers, social engineering, etc.
     
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  13. Mars

    Mars New Member

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    I don't really have anything else to say other than this sounds terribly cool. :supergrin:
     
  14. Jeni

    Jeni Member

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    I can see the wise benevolent king. King David threatened to split a baby in half when two mothers were both claiming the baby as her own. He knew the real mother would not want the child killed. I can see a king who believes in following the rules, doing what is right, and severely punishing those who do not. From your description, in my mind he is robot-like (at least partially). He has directives and anything veering from his directives deserves punishment. It sounds like an interesting story.
     
  15. Robert_S

    Robert_S Senior Member

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    No. Not a robot at all. It wouldn't do any good for him to be a robot, since a required component is his human experiences.

    He provides the human experience, that gets recorded for posterity, so he retains his identity at all times. This serves two purposes:

    1. Future ones will have access to the human experience so they will know how to interact with humans, just as Dante has access to Moanoc experience and knows how to interact with them in a diplomatic fashion.
    2. Should a race be wiped out, for whatever reason, there is an extremely personal and intimate record. The holder of the implant will know what it was like to be of that race.
     
  16. Cave Troll

    Cave Troll It's Coffee O'clock everywhere. Contributor

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    Sounds like A Brave New World by Huxley, just a smidgen. With out the happy drugs, of course. Kinda sounds like some weird fanatic hippie/vegan terrorist/cult leader with some extreme laws imposed on the people. For a ruler his politics, and governance is like a zero tolerance policy. Are you angry about something? Yes! Then you shall die for not being happier.
    I find that if this guy stays in power the people are eventually going to lose their collective shit, and revolt under his very unrealistic terms. Nothing sweeter than being put death with a bloody smile (I suppose):supergrin:

    Although, it is not uncommon for kings to hold public executions as to make an example of those who dare to challenge his authority. On the flipside though after rereading your OP I find that he is doing exactly what any king would do, though some would do worse things first and then kill the criminal. Well good luck with your not so extraordinary, very common place form of dictator @Robert_S. Perhaps if he were to be based upon a much more active tyrannical faction, he might be just a bit more interesting. Just a thought. :supersmile:
     
  17. Mumble Bee

    Mumble Bee Keep writing. Contributor

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    If you need research material on this type of character i'd suggest watching Gurren Lagann.

    Long story short, the first season antagonist is called the Spiral King and he fits your agenda. Well, except for being a 'good guy' but that gets sorted out later.
     
  18. newjerseyrunner

    newjerseyrunner Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2022

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    Rick Grimes?

    [​IMG]
     
  19. Shattered Shields

    Shattered Shields Gratsa!

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    That was David's son Solomon. I believe the full tale is in the first Kings.

    Please, please implement a character like this. I'm tired of the stereotypical good guy who doesn't kill the Big Bad because he's 'too good' for that kind of thing. Also, hypocrites are interesting.
     
  20. newjerseyrunner

    newjerseyrunner Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2022

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    That's definitely Rick Grimes.

    Is this the type of character you are trying to describe. Here is a great scene where he talks to his followers and those who they've just joined where he's clearly concerned about the wellbeing of those in the group, but he doesn't even hesitate the execute the threat.
     
  21. Shattered Shields

    Shattered Shields Gratsa!

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    I like how he's the only one who looks like they got hit by a bus.

    I also like how he looks at the threat on the ground like. "You done fucked up now boy."
     
  22. Vikingessa

    Vikingessa New Member

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    Amen! I agree there needs to be more characters like this. Your story sounds very intriguing!

    I am tangling with this type of character myself. He won't be seen until half through the book, kind of like the Great and Powerful Oz in that sense of being hidden. I love a bit of villain in all my characters, it is only human nature. A hybrid of good and bad sitting on the fence.
     
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  23. Robert_S

    Robert_S Senior Member

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    It may be difficult to detail the drive, but he's not killing the unhappy. He's killing the destructive. Example that I'm detailing the scene for:

    Beach goers capture a baby dolphin. They're busy partying and taking selfies with this baby. When he comes across them (he already declared himself emperor by this time and is asserting his authority), he demands they put it back in the water. One guy protests in some way. At this point, I'm deciding if Ro'shaan pulls his gun and points it, injures the man or kills him outright and demands again. It's taken from this story:

    https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-most-disturbing-picture-youve-ever-seen/answer/Kimia-McLean?srid=twGf

    Dante is trying to prevent humans from destroying the world, after he and BES and the Unity saved it for them, and that means teaching them right to life and the consequence of disregarding that.

    All of the approaches are experimental because this situation has never occurred before (BES making contact before a civilization's Great Filter Event), so both are struggling for an approach that works. But there is a bit of Dante seeping in in that he is an atheist and by not forcing himself to believe in an god and afterlife, he embraced the philosophy of right to life, even though he still ate what meat he could up until BES made him Ro'shaan.
     
    Last edited: May 22, 2016
  24. Robert_S

    Robert_S Senior Member

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    Oh, that's not a problem. Toward the end, he kills guards on his way to the end bad guy and cuts his throat after telling him he's fulfilling his wish (to have shared in the pain of soldiers he sent to war against other humans).
     

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